Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin found naturally in animal foods: meat, fish, eggs and dairy. Plant foods carry it only when fortified. This page sets out what may be said about vitamin B12 under the authorised UK wording and which foods carry the most of it per 100 g.

Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin found naturally in animal foods: meat, fish, eggs and dairy. Plant foods carry it only when fortified.

The reference intake used on UK labels (the NRV) is 0.0025 mg a day. A food is a source of vitamin B12 when 100 g carries at least 15 % of that (0.00038 mg) and high in vitamin B12 at 30 % (0.00075 mg). Those are the thresholds every food page here uses.

What Vitamin B12 does in the body.

Vitamin B12 contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism, to the normal function of the immune system and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

Vitamin B12 contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism, to the normal function of the immune system and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

That is the authorised wording, and it is credited to the nutrient itself. Nothing on this page goes beyond it.

How much counts as a source.

The Nutrient Reference Value for vitamin B12 on UK labels is 0.0025 mg a day. A food counts as a source of vitamin B12 at 15 % of that per 100 g (0.000375 mg) and as high in vitamin B12 at 30 % (0.00075 mg); drinks use half those percentages per 100 ml. Those are the thresholds every food page here applies, and the only basis on which a food page says “source of” or “high in”.

Foods with the most vitamin B12, per 100 g.

Per 100 g, these are the foods in the database with the most vitamin B12. Dishes and recipes are left out so the list shows single foods.

Where Vitamin B12 comes from in food.

ox liver (0.11 mg), lamb liver (0.083 mg), calf liver (0.068 mg), lamb kidney (0.054 mg), cockles (0.047 mg), chicken liver (0.045 mg), pig kidney (0.04 mg), ox kidney (0.038 mg)

Vitamin B12 in the Immufix formula.

Vitamin B12 is declared on the Immufix label at 0.00025 mg per 25 g scoop, which is 10 % of the NRV. The full list of declared nutrients is on The Science page.

Questions people ask.

Where the numbers come from.

Food figures from the UK Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID, 2021), per 100 g; reference values from Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 Annex XIII as retained in GB law; claim wording from GB nutrition and health claims register. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. All foods A to Z.